“Offshore processing failed to achieve its stated objectives of ‘stopping the boats’ or ‘saving lives at sea’,” Madeline Gleeson (senior research fellow at the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW) says. “During the height of this policy, more asylum seekers were trying to reach Australia by boat than at any previous time. What it was effective at doing was dehumanising people who came here in search of safety, and scoring political points.”
Barnaby Joyce apologised to Peter Dutton for breaking ranks over the Biloela family. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
Barnaby Joyce appears to have blindsided Peter Dutton with his support for the Murugappan family to stay in Australia, linking his position to his pro-life stance, a newly-released letter reveals.
Refugee Week 2023. Behind the News, ABC TV. Lyeba Khan, Reporter
June 18 - 24 is Refugee Week. It’s all about celebrating the positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society. We find out more about what it means to be a refugee and meet some kids who came to Australia as refugees.
Refugee Week 2023. Behind the News, ABC TV. Lyeba Khan, Reporter
University sport program helps Armidale's Ezidi settlers find community through volleyball. By James Paras, ABC News
When Shiroq Majid fled Iraq and found herself half a world away in the NSW New England town of Armidale in 2019, she lacked friends and the language skills to make them.
The international language of sport has helped her find both.
Home to Australia's largest population, Toowoomba's Yazidis worried support will run out . By Tobi Loftus, ABC News
"The federal government makes decisions about how many people are able to move to Toowoomba, and we love being a refugee welcome zone, but we need to have federal government support when they make those decisions," Catholic Care executive director Kate Venables said.
A tale of two disasters: Missing Titanic sub captivates the world days after deadly migrant shipwreck. By Chantal Da Silva, NBC News
Last week's sinking of a fishing boat crowded with migrants trying to get from Libya to Italy sparked arrests, violent protests and questions about authorities’ failure to act or find a long-term solution to the issue. But many human rights advocates are frustrated that the world seems to have already moved on and that the resources and media attention being dedicated to the Titan rescue efforts far outweigh those for the sunken migrant ship.
Hotel immigration detention policy to change following Commissioner's critical report. SBS News (Audio - 3:38 mins)
Serious and prolonged human rights issues of holding people in hotel immigration detention have been highlighted by Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner. The Department of Home Affairs has responded to the Commissioner's report by accepting only two of her 24 recommendations, but says it is changing the policy.
I have seen the devastating impacts of Australia’s hotel detention – it’s time to stop ‘regularising’ it. By Lorraine Finlay, Opinion : The Guardian
The first thing that struck me was the proximity. Other guests stayed in the same hotel, coming and going without realising they shared the place with people who were imprisoned – who looked out their windows as the world went by in the city centre but were unable to join it. The invisibility of detainees within hotels themselves emphasised their political invisibility.
Inspection report: Serious human rights concerns in hotel detention. Australian Human Rights Commission
An inspection report by the Australian Human Rights Commission has found serious human rights concerns persist in the use of hotels as Alternative Places of Detention (APODs) within Australia’s immigration detention system.
The report found detention in hotels had severe negative impacts on people’s physical and mental health, which became progressively worse the longer a person was detained.
Australia’s use of hotels for immigration detention found to have ‘devastating’ health effects. By Ben Doherty, The Guardian
Human rights commissioner, Lorraine Finlay, inspected detention hotels with Prof Suresh Sundram, the head of the department of psychiatry at Monash University, and found “entrenched boredom, loneliness, frustration and apathy” among detainees.
Some reported they felt they were better off in prison or immigration detention centres, where they had access to activities, exercise and fresh air.
At the time of the commission’s inspections in mid-2022, the longest continuous detention in a hotel was 634 days and the average time was 69 days.
Human Rights Commissioner takes aim at lengthy stays in hotel detention By Tom Lowrey, ABC News
Australia's Human Rights Commissioner has criticised an over-reliance on hotels for use in immigration detention, and the often-lengthy stays many detainees are subjected to.
Human Rights Commissioner takes aim at lengthy stays in hotel detention By Tom Lowrey, ABC News
Greens Senator Nick McKim speaking on Instagram from Refugee Week Fair at Parliament House
This World Refugee Day the Greens recommit to ending offshore detention once and for all.
Greens Senator Nick McKim speaking on Instagram from Refugee Week Fair at Parliament House
VIDEO: Calls for Australia to take in more refugees. ABC News (6:09 mins)
Amnesty International's Zaki Haidari says there hasn't been any movement on refugee intake, despite Labor's promise of 27,000 refugee places per year.
VIDEO: Calls for Australia to take in more refugees. ABC News (6:09 mins)
Former refugees gain Australian citizenship. SBS News (1:47 mins video)
Advocates have used World Refugee Day to call on the Australian government to increase its yearly humanitarian intake. The government has confirmed it's filled the number of humanitarian visas allocated to Afghan nationals, following the fall of Kabul in 2021.
Former refugees gain Australian citizenship. SBS News (1:47 mins video)
Daryna Povorozniuk fled Ukraine when she was heavily pregnant, but has found safety and support in Brisbane By Janelle Miles, ABC News
Daryna Povorozniuk was heavily pregnant when she fled to Australia last year from Ukraine after the Russian invasion, leaving her soldier husband behind to fight for their homeland's freedom.
Migrant groups urge reform of Australia’s ‘broken’ skills recognition process. By Mostafa Rachwani, The Guardian
It can be an arduous task to get overseas qualifications recognised in Australia. The Productivity Commission in 2006 described it as “complex, time-consuming and bureaucratic” process.
And it has forced Harooni to turn to other options, including taking an entry-level role at Transport NSW, a job he says he is happy for but doesn’t reflect what he can do.
“I’m really thankful for my job, but within myself I am not feeling happy that I am not working in my profession, which is what I have dedicated most of my life to,” he says.
'The freedom to choose' - celebrating human rights this Refugee Week. Hume City Council, Victoria
Every day, often without even realising it, people all over Hume City are benefitting from the experiences multiculturalism brings to our community.
Every year Hume City council celebrates this richness of diversity and cultures that refugees bring to the Hume community during Refugee Week, which is happening this year from 18-24 June. Details- rb.gy/ssstp
'The freedom to choose' - celebrating human rights this Refugee Week. Hume City Council, Victoria
For every meal you buy at this Sydney restaurant, another two go to a refugee. By Sandra Fulloon, SBS News
It’s lunchtime at Kabul Social, near Sydney's Wynyard Station, and a queue is forming at the counter. City workers order meals cooked by Afghan women, featuring the flavours of their homeland. For each meal sold, the social enterprise donates another two; one to refugees and asylum seekers living in Australia and the other to someone in Afghanistan.
The Drum (ABC iview) coverage of final evacuations from Nauru (15 June 2023). Presented by Ellen Fanning
Discussion from 22:50 until 39:30 mins into program.
Asylum seekers centre stage in Sid Pattni's exhibition The Story of Us. By Molly Schmidt, ABC Radio Perth
Malak is an Iraqi asylum seeker who now calls Perth home. Her portrait is one of many painted by Indian-Australian artist Sid Pattni for his exhibition The Story of Us. The large portraits stretch across the walls, solemn faces staring into the Cleaver Street Studio in West Perth. Beside each painting rests a pair of headphones offering the viewer a chance to listen to snippets of each asylum seeker's story.